Once upon a time, Daryl was a children’s librarian at the Cambridge Public Library. As Coordinator of Children’s Services, she worked with the children’s librarians at eight locations, planned system wide programs like summer reading club, offered story times to local families, talked with parents about the importance of literacy, and invited authors to visit. After 24 years, she closed that chapter of her career and retired. Until recently.

“A friend at my church told me that Family ACCESS had assembled this incredible library and was looking for some help organizing things,” explains Daryl, who was eventually asked to visit. “I am so impressed by the teachers and the volunteers who put together this beautiful resource.”

Daryl now serves as Volunteer Librarian, coming into the Early Learning Center three times per month to get the students excited about reading. Many of the books were donated and some were the result of grants, she says.

“The children really enjoy it. I mean, who doesn’t like a good story?” notes Daryl.

During her first session with the classes, she started with a simple question.

“What is a library?” she asked.

“A place where there are books,” the children enthusiastically answered.

“And what is in a book?” Daryl probed.

“Words and pictures,” responded the class.

“Words and pictures make up stories, and there are a lot of wonderful stories in our library for you to enjoy,” Daryl explained.

Daryl includes rhymes and movement to “get students engaged.” When she reads a story, she often asks questions along the way.

“I’ll ask things like, ‘what do you see?’ or ‘what animal is this?’ to help them feel involved in the process,” Daryl says.

The books are available for Family ACCESS parents and students to take home and return – no typical library check-out procedure necessary. Daryl says she has enjoyed meeting the staff and families at the school and couldn’t be happier to be back sharing favorite children’s stories with these young learners.

“Books really open up the imagination and that’s fun to witness,” she says.